An unusual stuffing of sweet, moist figs, seasoned with aromatic thyme, makes traditional roast chicken a dish for a special occasion. The cooking juices are
absorbed into the rice and dried fruit. Roasting with the skin on keeps the chicken moist and brings out its fullest flavor, but take off the skin as you eat or the dish's fat content will be much higher.
ingredients
For the stuffing:
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
3 level teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 level teaspoon dried thyme
4 level tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
2/3 cup long-grain brown rice
1 1/4 cups dried figs, roughly chopped
1 1/2 pints chicken stock
Freshly ground black pepper
4 pound oven-ready chicken, rinsed and well dried with kitchen paper
2 tablespoons water
Sprig of fresh thyme
Thinly pared rind of half a lemon
2 fresh figs, sprigs of thyme and parsley to garnish
method
OVEN: Preheat to 200°C (400°F)
1. To prepare the stuffing, put the onion, garlic, carrot, chopped or dried thyme, parsley, grated lemon rind, rice and figs into a large saucepan and pour in 1 1/4 pints of the stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 35 - 40 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all the stock. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and season with pepper.
2. Spoon about two-thirds of the rice mixture loosely inside the chicken. Do not overfill or the chicken will not cook thoroughly. Put the remainder of the stuffing into an ovenproof serving dish and stir in the remaining chicken stock. Put on the lid, or cover with foil, and set aside.
3. Place the chicken on a rack in a small roasting tin and tie its legs together with clean string. Put the water, the sprig of thyme and the thinly pared lemon rind into the tin. Roast the chicken in the heated oven for about 1 hour 30 minutes, until there is no trace of pink in the juice that seeps out when you push a fork into the thickest part of the thigh. During cooking, baste the chicken frequently with the juices that collect in the roasting tin. Put the reserved stuffing into the oven for the last 30 minutes of cooking to heat thoroughly.
4. Lift the cooked chicken onto a warmed serving plate. Cover it loosely with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Skim all the fat from the roasting tin, then reheat the cooking juices and strain through a sieve into a warmed serving jug. Garnish the chicken with wedges of fresh fig and the sprigs of thyme and parsley just before serving.
Carve the chicken at the table, giving each diner some breast meat and leg meat and stuffing from inside the bird. Leave the diners to remove the chicken skin themselves. Hand round the sauce and extra stuffing separately and serve with a crisp green salad and some hot crusty rolls.
more information
Use a potato peeler to pare off the lemon rind very thinly. It is easier to pare half the rind from a whole lemon than to grasp and pare a cut lemon.
